2005 MINI Cooper S: jerking or lurching

Filed Feb 13, 2016 · Transmission · 48,000 miles · CA

Transmission previously replaced at 48k miles by manufacturer due to noise. My transmission is broken. My tires chirp every time I push on the gas because the transmission does not know what gear to be in due to the bad body control valve. The transmission needs to be replaced because I cannot verify how much mechanical damage has taken place during the time that the valve body has been broken. Once the valve body breaks down, the mechanical unit also begins to break down. Mini needs to issue a service bulletin telling the dealers to commence servicing the aisin transmissions every 40k by replacing the fluid. Bmw/mini's transmission fluid is not lifetime. Volkswagen issued a similar bulletin a few years ago because it also uses the aisin transmission. The independent repair shops may not replace the fluid right because the transmission fluid is hard to drain and in many cases if it's not done right, great damage is done the engine. The consumer stated the vehicle was under powered upon acceleration. The vehicle would jerk, and buck. The valve body in the transmission began to break down because the shavings from the transmission gears began to cloud the fluid and inhibit communication from the valve body solenoids to the mechanical components. Updated 03/23/16.

Filed Nov 23, 2013 · Steering · AL

I was on my way back to work from lunch in my 2005 mini cooper s and my power steering suddenly and without warning failed in the middle of a curve! I fortunately managed to regain control of the vehicle and limp to the parking lot to pull over. Then, I turned the car off to get out, and discovered my power steering pump was still running even with the car completely off!? I was afraid that this would cause a meltdown or fire, so I quickly called a mini dealer to ask how to shut the pump off. I was told that the battery had to be disconnected! The battery had to remain disconnected while the car was off or the pump would run continuously. I did not feel the car was safe to drive at this point. My power steering was now unpredictably intermittent when the car was running. The power steering would suddenly fail and then suddenly come back on, causing a jerk-and-swerve reaction in the steering wheel for me while driving. So I called mini USA to report the problem, and I towed the vehicle to a mini dealer. The mini dealer diagnosed the problem to be the known power steering failure covered by the extended warranty on the power steering pump and associated pump cooling fan for model years 2002-2005 for up to 13 years/150,000 miles. But mini USA denied coverage despite my car only having approx 70,000 miles, claiming that they stopped coverage after feb 2005 because the newly designed replacement parts were installed after feb 2005. My car was built in may 2005 and was proven by the mini dealer to have the original faulty power steering parts, not the newly designed parts. I am reporting this as a known potentially dangerous safety issue that should instead be a safety recall, rather than this extended warranty that mini USA does not properly advertise or honor, so that all mini owners will get their steering checked before anything bad happens.

Filed Mar 22, 2013 · Transmission · 72,878 miles · CA

I am the current owner of a 2005 mini cooper s. I purchased the vehicle in 2006 from mini of irvine with 3,000 miles. I have recently been experiencing issues with the CVT transmission. The car jerks when changing gears at any speed, as well as when switching from drive to reverse. I have taken the car to mini of san diego to be diagnosed and have been notified that the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $8,000. The vehicle currently has 73,000 miles and find it completely unacceptable that the transmission is failing so early on.

Filed Feb 5, 2013 · Steering · 110,000 miles · CA

Was driving along the road and came up on a turn when the steering locked up. Put all of my weight into the steering wheel to keep from jumping the median. Scared the life out of me. Immediately pulled over to figure out what happened. Turned the car off, then back on and it seemed fine. Then getting on the freeway, I was on the clover-leaf and it locked up again so I put all of my weight into it again, then it suddenly released. With the sudden jerk/movement (and it has done this a few times) someday I know it will cause the car to flip. The power steering seems to work in phases: it will be fine for a couple days, then its intermittent/gone for a week or 2. The past few days, it has sounded like the engine fan was engaged even though I had not been for a strenuous drive. I think it was actually the pump not turning off when the car was turned off. This morning I got to my car to find the battery completely drained... An apparent short in the power steering pump (and/or fan) killed it.

Filed Jun 16, 2009 · Transmission · 98,000 miles · TN

2005 mini cooper s-began having issues with the car jerking when shifting gears (not a manual transmission) in early 2009. I took it to my mechanics. They had it for quite awhile, trying to determine the root cause. They advised that they even consulted with the dealership, but said they felt like the dealership wasn't very forthcoming in their information. My mechanic ultimately decided that he thought it was a sensor that needed to be replaced. $500 to replace this sensor. The rough shifting continued and on june 2, 2009, while I was out at lunch, I lost first gear altogether. The car would move forward, but was not able to pick up any real speed until the RPM's got high enough. I pulled over into a parking lot, put the car in park and turned the car off. When I started it again, I had the use of first gear again, but this time it felt as though it wouldn't shift out of third. I drove it very slowly and carefully back to my office. I called the dealership, told them that I was going to need to have it towed in, and asked if they had a towing service. She said no, but recommended a towing company. I had it towed it but didn't hear anything back from anyone until monday, june 8, 2009. My husband was told it was the transmission and that it would be $8,000 for the transmission and $2000 for the labor. Hard to believe anyone could say that with a straight face. Around june 9, 2009, the mini service manager said he was going to work with it a little bit and see if he could get any of those costs covered under a service bulletin. Today is june 16, 2009. My husband has called, left voicemails, and even gone up the dealership. We have heard nothing back from the mini service manager. My husband spoke to the bmw service manager, who told him that we'd have to wait and talk to the mini service manager.